The internet has created a new social base where governments are ever more critically examined and measuring public sentiment expressed on social media is crucial to gauging ongoing support for democracy. This book illustrates a methodology for doing so, and considers the impact of this new public sphere on the future of democracy.

Barend Lutz is a political/security risk analyst and big data analyst with a background in Value and Policy Studies and International Relations. His research is focused on integrating next-generation internet technology and political science. He is an alumnus of Stellenbosch University, the MIH Media Lab, University of Hong Kong and Sciences-Po grande école Paris.
 
Pierre du Toit is Professor in the Department of Political Science at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. His latest book, co-authored with Hennie Kotzé, is Liberal Democracy and Peace in South Africa. The Pursuit of Freedom as Dignity. (2011). His latest edited work, with Nicola de Jager, is Friend or Foe? Dominant Party Systems Southern Africa (2013).